Lily: silent at school

The case (fictional)

Lily is six and started Primary 1 in Singapore five months ago. Her family speaks Mandarin and English at home, and she speaks both fluently there. At school she has not spoken to her teacher or classmates. She nods, points, and whispers to one friend in the playground, but only when no adult is nearby.

At home she chatters, sings and bosses her younger brother. Her parents say she was shy at kindergarten but did speak a little there. A hearing test last year was normal. Her mother says she herself was "painfully shy" as a child.

Her teacher, Mrs Rahman, is worried and has tried hard. She offered Lily a sticker for saying "good morning", and once kept her in at break until she answered a question; Lily cried and froze. The school has asked the school psychologist to "make her talk".

The psychologist's first meeting will be a consultation with Mrs Rahman and Lily's parents, without Lily.